Chapter Three: Trial One (Physical)

A sharp inhale rips through my lungs as I jolt awake. My body feels heavy, like I've been asleep for hours, im getting tired of this being put to sleep stuff. the moment my senses come rushing back, I realize something is wrong.

Beneath my hands, the ground is rough, not the cold metal of the cafeteria but something uneven, almost like stone. My fingers twitch, brushing over jagged edges, and when I push myself up, I feel the shift of air—vast, open, and unsettling.

The room is gone. The cafeteria is gone.

Instead, I'm kneeling on a platform suspended in an enormous void. The air is thick with silence, the kind that presses against my skull, making my skin prickle. Dim lights glow from above, casting eerie shadows across the course ahead of us. Narrow beams stretch into the distance, connected by unstable platforms, hanging ropes, and rusted metal bars. Some sections look like they'll barely hold weight. Others lead into nothingness.

A black abyss yawns beneath it all.

My stomach knots. If someone falls from certain points, there's no telling where they'll land. Or if they'll land at all.

A groan sounds beside me. I twist to see Raegan stirring, shaking his head like he's trying to clear the fog from his brain. Beyond him, Sienna is already awake, crouched low, scanning the course with sharp eyes. Callum sits a few feet away, legs stretched out, his usual smirk absent as he stares down into the darkness below.

"What the hell…" Raegan mutters, finally taking in our surroundings.

A crackling noise fills the air, and then a voice—calm, clinical, inhuman—echoes from unseen speakers above.

"Trial One: Initiated. Reach the exit before time runs out. Falling will result in death. Begin."

A low mechanical hum vibrates through the structure beneath us. Then, with a loud clank, the platform behind us retracts into the void.

The only way forward is across.

Sienna is the first to move. Without a word, she crouches down and brushes her fingers over the rough surface of the platform. Then, she picks up a small, jagged rock, turning it over in her hand before stepping closer to the edge.

"Better to know now than find out the hard way," she mutters.

Raegan and I watch as she tosses the rock over the side. It vanishes instantly, swallowed by the abyss below. We all go still, listening.

A second passes. Then another.

Nothing. No splash. No thud. No sound at all.

Raegan swallows hard. "Well... that's not reassuring."

The realization settles like a weight in my stomach. Whatever's down there—it's deep. Maybe endless. If we fall, we're not getting back up. let alone living.

Behind us, the groans of the waking fill the air as the other recruits begin to stir. Some jolt upright, disoriented, while others shake off the effects of whatever knocked us out.

Murmurs ripple through the crowd. People start standing, glancing around, their gazes shifting from the obstacle course ahead to the void below. A few exchange nervous whispers, others are already sizing up the competition.

The course itself stretches out into the distance, massive and sprawling. Multiple paths branch out in different directions—some leading to narrow beams, others to unstable-looking platforms that sway ever so slightly with each movement. Hanging ropes and metal bars crisscross overhead, some within reach, others looking like a desperate leap would be needed to grab onto them.

At least a hundred of us are gathered on this starting platform. Some from Tier 5 like me and Raegan. Others from higher tiers—stronger, faster, trained for this kind of thing.

My hands clench into fists. That voice said we had to reach the exit before time ran out.

I glance around.

No countdown. No visible timer.

How much time do we even have?

A sharp clang echoes from above, and suddenly, sections of the course begin shifting—beams tilting, platforms rising and lowering unpredictably. The entire structure is unstable, like it's adjusting even before we've started.

Then, the mechanical voice returns.

"Trial One has begun."

The moment those words sound, a loud click reverberates beneath us. The starting platform trembles slightly.

And then—it begins retracting.

Panic spreads like wildfire as realization kicks in. If we don't move, the ground beneath us will disappear.

The trial isn't just starting. It's forcing us forward.

The platform jerks again, the outer edges already pulling inward. Someone curses. A few people hesitate, but then one of the Tier 3 recruits bolts forward, launching himself onto the first obstacle—a narrow beam barely wide enough for both feet. He wobbles but keeps moving. That's all it takes.

Chaos erupts.

People surge forward in every direction, some shoving, some scrambling for the safest-looking routes. I grab Raegan's wrist and pull him with me, my eyes scanning the options ahead.

Sienna is already moving, light on her feet as she sprints toward a set of hanging ropes. Callum, the ever-smug Tier 3, takes a different approach, judging his surroundings before leaping onto a swaying platform.

I don't have time to overthink. The floor beneath us is shrinking fast.

"Come on!" I shove Raegan ahead of me as we approach a series of broken bridges. Some planks are missing, others look weak, creaking under the weight of those already testing them.

A scream cuts through the noise—a boy missteps, his foot slipping through a gap. He flails, reaching for anything, but no one is close enough to help.

the scream—sharp and panicked—and it's like the sound is amplified by the emptiness beneath us. The person's body plummets into the darkness, their scream echoing, fading. There's a sickening moment of silence, then—

Splatt.

The sound is grotesque, like a wet slap against the cold, hard ground. My stomach lurches, and I swallow back the bile that rises in my throat.

Raegan stops short.

"Go!" I bark, pushing him forward before he can freeze up. "Don't stop, don't think, just move!"

He sucks in a breath, nods, and sprints ahead. his face was pale and sickly looking.

I follow, keeping my weight balanced as I leap from one section of the bridge to the next. Each landing is unpredictable—some boards tilt, others groan under the pressure.

Sienna reaches the ropes ahead of us and swings across effortlessly. A few others follow her lead, but one girl hesitates too long, and the rope swings out of reach. She screams as she plummets.

No time to react. No time to help.

I grit my teeth and press on.

I glance at Raegan, who's already eyeing the nearest platform with unease. His lips are pressed into a thin line, but his eyes are wide, flicking back and forth between the edges, calculating, hesitant. His foot hovers over the first platform, and I can feel the hesitation in his movement.

"Raegan," I grunt, taking a deep breath. "We've got this. Just follow my lead."

Raegan nods quickly, but his expression is tight, his teeth clenched in a nervous snarl. The platform shifts again, groaning under the weight of the recruits starting to cross. I take my first step onto the swaying platform, my foot slipping slightly before I catch myself, my heart racing.

One foot in front of the other. Focus.

Another scream, and it's followed by a horrible, distorted splat as someone else falls into the abyss below. The sound is like nothing I've ever heard, raw and full of terror, and it sends a jolt through my spine. My stomach churns, but I shove the feeling down. I can't afford to be weak now.

Raegan follows closely behind me, his steps lighter than mine, but I can see the strain in his shoulders. The beam beneath us sways again, tipping precariously to the left. I adjust my weight, steadying myself as I reach for the next platform, barely managing to land with my right foot.

Don't look down.

It's too late. I glance over, and the sight of the black abyss below nearly makes my stomach turn. I quickly look away, refocusing on the next platform. One step, two steps, and then another scream echoes across the course, louder this time. A girl in front of us misjudges the distance between two platforms, her foot catching the edge and sending her flailing through the air.

For a brief moment, she hangs there, suspended, before gravity does its cruel work. She plummets, her scream cutting off as she falls too far.

The sound of her impact reverberates up to us, like a hammer striking an anvil.

Raegan freezes for a second, his breath hitching in his throat. I grab his wrist before he can fully stop, pulling him forward.

"Keep moving!" I snap, forcing him to step onto the next platform. His eyes are wide with panic, his chest rising and falling in shallow breaths. He's struggling, I can tell. The fear's got him. But I need him to push through it.

He nods, his eyes hardening with resolve as he moves. He's barely hanging on, but he's doing it. Just like me.

Another scream.

I grit my teeth, stepping onto the next platform and watching the space ahead carefully. Each step feels heavier than the last, but there's no turning back now. Raegan's right behind me, his steps faltering but steady.

"Raegan," I mutter, trying to keep my voice calm despite the adrenaline buzzing in my veins, "don't stop. You can't. Not now."

"I'm trying," he says, his voice strained, but there's a determination in his eyes. The fear's still there, but he's fighting it.

We make it across the last of the swaying platforms and reach the edge of the next obstacle: a series of suspended ropes that hang like thick vines across a gap. I glance back at Raegan and see him visibly calming, his hands clutching the ropes as he swings forward with more confidence. He makes it to the other side first.

I follow, my hands burning with effort as I grip the ropes tight, swinging from one to the next. It feels like my entire body is screaming with exhaustion, but I can't stop. Not with the abyss still lurking beneath me.

Raegan's waiting for me on the other side, his eyes scanning the next challenge ahead, but for a brief moment, we lock eyes, both of us silent.

"Made it," he says under his breath, a shaky but relieved laugh escaping him.

"Barely," I mutter, looking ahead at the next obstacle, my hands still tingling from the ropes.

Raegan looks back toward the platform, his eyes scanning the rest of the recruits, hardening his gaze watching the chaos unfold. The rest of the recruits are starting to crack under the pressure. The platform is a madhouse now—people jostling each other for space, stumbling over the edges, and shouting in panic. Some are clinging to the ropes, while others scramble desperately to make it across.

I can hear a scream to my left as someone's foot slips from the edge of a narrow platform, and I turn just in time to see them fall, their body vanishing into the dark abyss. The sound of their scream cuts through the chaos, filling my ears like a twisted reminder of what's at stake.

"Focus," I mutter under my breath, trying to block out the panic rising in my chest. I glance back at Raegan, seeing the flicker of fear still present in his eyes, but it's not as intense now. He's moving with more purpose.

"Don't let it get to you," I tell him, my voice steady despite the storm of nerves brewing in my gut.

"I know," he mutters, nodding, but his hands are still trembling slightly as he watches the others fall apart around us. It's not just the physical obstacles we're facing anymore—it's the fear, the desperation. The mental game is as much a part of this trial as anything else.